2025 is priming up to be a coaching carousel, the likes of which we have never seen. Many of Oregon’s opponents might make a change, which, of course, could affect the Ducks moving forward. UW’s Jed Fisch has ties to UCLA. If he bolts to the Bruins, will the Huskies replace him with a winner or a loser? Lincoln Riley ...

Crazy Coaching Carousel Could Seriously Affect Ducks

Wisconsin is giving Fickell another season. That came out yesterday.

I don't think Smith is welcome back in Corvallis.

There are many good, young OC's out there right now who could replace Stein. Namely, Jordan Davis (UNT), Landon Koepple (TX State), and John David Baker (ECU). They all have top rated offenses in CFB.

Josh Pate said this the other day on the Bussin' podcast: “Let’s just keep an eye on Lincoln Riley at USC.” There is speculation that if Aranda get s fired at Baylor or McGuire gets lured away from TTU then he's gone.

Dr. Jack's Hot Take of the Day:

Fisch leaves UW and Jonathan Smith replaces him. Brian Kelly replaces Smith at MSU. You heard it here first.

Darren, thanks for the article! The coaching merry-go-round is just a few weeks away from kicking into high gear.

I agree that WS will get offers. UCLA would be a good landing spot because the school itself has low expectations, the program had no plsce to go but up and their 35 fans don't care. Will needs a $10 to $15 million NIL committment from the Bruins. He has great talent to work with at Oregon because of NIL. It' played a role in his success.

Going from UW to UCLA would be a step down for JF. If he leaves it most likely woild be to Florida or LSU. He is a quality coach that can build a winner and proved his teams will defend their home turf.

Not a great deal of high qiality coaches to choose from. Only a few schools have the deep pockets to pull a top level coach away from their current spot.

This Duck fan refuses to look past the Iowa game. Not because I don't believe OBD's can win the game! Because they can win it.........

I just don't know what Duck team will show up. Other than the Rutgers game the Ducks have struggled offensively in conference play to put up points. Iowa is the best defense they will play so far. Points will be scarce and hard to come by. Play clean, no turnovers and coach punt the ball, if necessary. Give the Haekeyes along field.

The Hawkeyes don't wilt against top 10 teams. And they defend their home turf very well.

The Duck D will win this game! Iowa's offense will try to run but the Duck D can stack the box. As long as the Duck ends hold the edge then IOWA has to pass.

They have no deep threats. They are excellent at sending the TE on a loop behind the linebackers for 7 yard gains. Or quick slants to WR. Stop those safety net plays and the Duck D could pitch a shut out.

The Hawkeye DC, Herbie and the Hawkeye beat writers have given OBD's ample bulletin board material for motivation.

Go Ducks, prove them wrong.

I am not sure that Stein will leave--even with all the openings. If his alma-mater, Louisville opened up, then I see him leaving for that for certain. But beyond that...he might just use job offers to increase his contract at Oregon--which I am in favor of to hopefully keep him here longer.

3 hours ago, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

Wisconsin is giving Fickell another season. That came out yesterday.

I don't think Smith is welcome back in Corvallis.

There are many good, young OC's out there right now who could replace Stein. Namely, Jordan Davis (UNT), Landon Koepple (TX State), and John David Baker (ECU). They all have top rated offenses in CFB.

Dr. Jack's Hot Take of the Day:

Fisch leaves UW and Jonathan Smith replaces him. Brian Kelly replaces Smith at MSU. You heard it here first.

Love your hot takes, but I would guess if MSU opens up, it’s because JS gets fired. He feels a bit damaged to me.

I like your OC suggestions, I’m not particularly attached to Stein personally. What is it, year 2? Pppht.

There will be absolute recruiting carnage once the coaching dominos start to fall. We could lose a few if Stein goes, but there will be a TON out there to be had.

Edited Friday at 04:55 PM3 days by JabbaNoBargain

Let's be real here...the Beevrats could not be any less punchy than they are now

26 minutes ago, JabbaNoBargain said:

Love your hot takes, but I would guess if MSU opens up, it’s because JS gets fired. He feels a bit damaged to me.

I like your OC suggestions, I’m not particularly attached to Stein personally. What is it, year 2? Pppht.

There will be absolute recruiting carnage once the coaching dominos start to fall. We could lose a few if Stein goes, but there will be a TON out there to be had.

Jonathan Smith has recruiting relationships on the West Coast and he ran a pretty good offense for the fuskies before coming to OSU and completely turning that program around. It seemed like he went to MSU because he had to. Not because he wanted to. I hope he doesn't go to Seattle because OBD might not be able to steal as many of their local recruits if he comes back.

It definitely makes sense for Fisch to punch out and for JS to backfill him.

4 hours ago, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

Wisconsin is giving Fickell another season. That came out yesterday.

I don't think Smith is welcome back in Corvallis.

There are many good, young OC's out there right now who could replace Stein. Namely, Jordan Davis (UNT), Landon Koepple (TX State), and John David Baker (ECU). They all have top rated offenses in CFB.

Josh Pate said this the other day on the Bussin' podcast: “Let’s just keep an eye on Lincoln Riley at USC.” There is speculation that if Aranda get s fired at Baylor or McGuire gets lured away from TTU then he's gone.

Dr. Jack's Hot Take of the Day:

Fisch leaves UW and Jonathan Smith replaces him. Brian Kelly replaces Smith at MSU. You heard it here first.

I think Smith might have coached himself out of any big jobs, but we'll see. It'll be interesting.

3 hours ago, HappyToBeADuck said:

Darren, thanks for the article! The coaching merry-go-round is just a few weeks away from kicking into high gear.

I agree that WS will get offers. UCLA would be a good landing spot because the school itself has low expectations, the program had no plsce to go but up and their 35 fans don't care. Will needs a $10 to $15 million NIL committment from the Bruins. He has great talent to work with at Oregon because of NIL. It' played a role in his success.

Going from UW to UCLA would be a step down for JF. If he leaves it most likely woild be to Florida or LSU. He is a quality coach that can build a winner and proved his teams will defend their home turf.

Not a great deal of high qiality coaches to choose from. Only a few schools have the deep pockets to pull a top level coach away from their current spot.

This Duck fan refuses to look past the Iowa game. Not because I don't believe OBD's can win the game! Because they can win it.........

I just don't know what Duck team will show up. Other than the Rutgers game the Ducks have struggled offensively in conference play to put up points. Iowa is the best defense they will play so far. Points will be scarce and hard to come by. Play clean, no turnovers and coach punt the ball, if necessary. Give the Haekeyes along field.

The Hawkeyes don't wilt against top 10 teams. And they defend their home turf very well.

The Duck D will win this game! Iowa's offense will try to run but the Duck D can stack the box. As long as the Duck ends hold the edge then IOWA has to pass.

They have no deep threats. They are excellent at sending the TE on a loop behind the linebackers for 7 yard gains. Or quick slants to WR. Stop those safety net plays and the Duck D could pitch a shut out.

The Hawkeye DC, Herbie and the Hawkeye beat writers have given OBD's ample bulletin board material for motivation.

Go Ducks, prove them wrong.

Yes, this game will show us where the Ducks truly are.

2 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

I am not sure that Stein will leave--even with all the openings. If his alma-mater, Louisville opened up, then I see him leaving for that for certain. But beyond that...he might just use job offers to increase his contract at Oregon--which I am in favor of to hopefully keep him here longer.

That's very well possible, might be waiting for the "right" job for him. But..... I think he jumps!

53 minutes ago, JDuck said:

Let's be real here...the Beevrats could not be any less punchy than they are now

Very true. So, odds are they will at least get a little more punchy..... at some point.

34 minutes ago, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

Jonathan Smith has recruiting relationships on the West Coast and he ran a pretty good offense for the fuskies before coming to OSU and completely turning that program around. It seemed like he went to MSU because he had to. Not because he wanted to. I hope he doesn't go to Seattle because OBD might not be able to steal as many of their local recruits if he comes back.

He might have to do a little career rehabilitation at OSU or in the new Pac-12 before getting another big job. It's one thing to be mediocre, it is another to be really bad. We'll see....

This year has been a bit insane with the number of mid-year firings. The big jobs (PSU, LSU, UF) are all interesting, I could see some surprises at those jobs since I don't know if they are jobs that are going to attract as big names as they think.

Penn St for instance could be really interesting if they went off script and picked a guy like Hartline (I don't think he'll go there, but still). Florida is a complete crapshoot as to who will go there after all the misses they've had. Who knows where that job is going (Brent Key would be a guy to look at I think). LSU is such a dumpster fire with the state government getting involved and seeming to focus on getting someone who understands Louisiana culture.

As for Oregon, I think it might be the right time for Stein to go, where he'll end up could be determined by who leaves a job for one of those jobs I mentioned. Seems like he's ready for it. Tupoi is also someone who I could see making the decision that it's time to throw his name in the hat.

It also might depend on how Oregon does the rest of the season. If Oregon makes a run in the playoffs that might make those coaches more appealing or it could encourage them to take the next step in their careers.

If our coordinators leave I have a lot confidence in Lanning to pick coaches who will be successful here.

Edited Friday at 06:21 PM3 days by spartan2785

Thank you, Darren.

One change I believe we will see has already occurred with Matt Ruhle's extension at Nebraska. Ruhle has the same base salary, but with incentives met, he could earn up to $12 million a year. And he doesn't have to be paid stupid money if he's fired. James Franklin andBrian Kelly just 'earned' around $50 million each for 'screwing up.' 🤪

Agents vs. Athletic Directors has been an unfair fight. 3rd parties are stepping in to eliminate the absurd exit fees. Contract for a right of first refusal. If the current school matches the new offer and the coach leaves regardless, why would you want him to stay?

Mega UCLA booster Casey Wasserman is in charge of the search. He is also in charge of the effort to have enough money pledged so that the new coach knows what he has to work with. I think boosters with business sense will have far more influence on new coaching hires.

Fisch coached at UCLA (where hasn't he coached?), and he and his spouse love SoCal. But I don't see him being offered enough money to take him away from Washington. I think the only move he would make is to his alma mater, Florida. Does he want to coach in the SEC grist mill?

As the good Doctor noted, the Badgers are sticking with Luke Fickell while also promising him better resources. When it comes to Lady Luck, she's been fickle when it comes to Luke. Three years in a row, the Wisconsin starting QB has been lost to injury in the opening game. Also, Wisconsin doesn't have the money to pay the exit fee, money that instead can be invested in the program.

The Badgers' 2026 schedule is not the most difficult in the conference, a schedule that was difficult enough without a trip to Tuscaloosa.

The man took G5 Cincinnati to a four-team PO. The Wisconsin defense was down several starters in Autzen, but the team played hard for sixty minutes. Give him a chance with better resources and a schedule easier than this season. Playing this schedule, Ohio State and Indiana would likely have lost a game or two.

J. Smith? Lots of money is required to send him packing. The same issue that Wisconsin is dealing with. Pay the coach to leave, or invest the money in the program. Smith changed QBs last Saturday, and Sparty played well against Minnesota. Smith didn't use it as an excuse, but MSU was repeatedly screwed over by the refs before losing in OT.

You'd think that Smith would be perfect for a developmental program like MSU. But it's hard to compete against teams with more resources and develop players who don't stick around to be developed. I know Magic isn't happy, but I think Smith gets another year. With the demand for coaches, who is out there with better bona fides than Smith?

Oregon's remaining opponents are 24-9. SC has Northwestern and UCLA left to play, and gets Iowa in LA after a likely slobber-knocker game against Oregon. SC has a shot at the PO and should finish no worse than 9-3. I don't think SC will risk losing a top class of recruits, and I don't think that Riley would leave a Power 2 program for a team in a lesser conference.

Florida and LSU are located in recruiting central territory and have the money to pay top dollar. But are the programs aligned with support from the administration on down? These two jobs are Natty or you're gone. An eight-team conference schedule was hard enough, and now you have to play nine SEC opponents?

Arkansas basketball got Calipari because he was used up at Kentucky. Who wants to coach a program under an AD who goes public with the fact that the Hogs don't have the money to compete in the SEC?

Penn State is another Natty or bust job. Be careful what you wish for, fans. James Franklin won a lot of football games. One of the more interesting things that happened this season was Penn State DC Tom Allen leaving for Clemson, and DC Jim Knowles leaving Ohio for Penn State. Tigers and Lions, Oh My!

While the new guy at Ohio State without college coaching experience was a terrible hire, right?😁

Based on what we've seen to date, I trust Dan Lanning to hire quality replacements for any assistant coaches who leave for another job.

I think many programs are going to exit this carousel with a brass ring. And please, ADs, stop crying about not having enough money.

Another winner, Darren, thank you!

50 minutes ago, Darren Perkins said:

I think Smith might have coached himself out of any big jobs

"Big job" is subjective. He is still a decent P4 coach.

It would be interesting if ewe dub and OBD both run the table up till that game.

A Ducks win and we are in. A close Ducks loss and both might make it depending on SEC chaos and only 1 bid to ACC and Big 12.

Great comments and thoughts in this tbread today.. Great article to ponder for sure.

I think that the egos are big enough at LSU, Florida and PSU that they will offer Urban, Saban and Lanning beyond ridiculous numbers to be their head coach. Doesn't matter that all 3 say no publicly they will get offered.

Franklin should have been hired by a number of programs to get a jump start on recruiting for next season

It just doesnt feel like the pool is filled with candidates.

No matter who takes the Beavers job now, it is just a step up from the Big Sky. The Montana State coach comes from North Dakota State coaching tree. He makes sense for the Beavers and so does Ojeron.

PS: No matter the offers than do come to DL I feel PK will match it or add more Nike stock. DL has OBD's on track for a Natty,and he knows it. Maybe next year because the freshman, RS freshman and RS sophmores on the 2025 squad are freaks and cutting their teeth.

Good Josh! Not according to Trojans Wire -

https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/trojans/football/2025/11/06/josh-pate-lincoln-riley-thinking-departure-usc-football/87124188007/?utm_source=smg-trojanswire-strada&utm_medium=email

Luuuuke, I am your (AD god)father. 😇

Badger of Honor

Wisconsin AD tries justifying why he won't fire Luke Fick...

Here we go again, everyone. With the Wisconsin football team once again stuck in a poor level that no one wanted to see in 2025, a lot of us thought that maybe

4 hours ago, Darren Perkins said:

That's very well possible, might be waiting for the "right" job for him. But..... I think he jumps!

If we finish the season with our offense performing better than has been and we run the table, he's probably gone.

Fisch has done everything except park a uhaul outside his office at UW. Where he lands I have no idea. Even though UCLA seems like a step down, he (and his family) may not see it that way. That would open the door for Smith.

That said, I’m still leaning toward Smith going to UCLA.

Im not sure I care where Will goes....

Fisch is 90% gone even before this afternoon's game. His wife moved to Arizona, Scottsdale I believe. The family doesn't like Seattle. They want a comfortable life in the sun, so UCLA makes sense. I'd be fairly surprised if Florida isn't able to get Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss. They'll just have to wait a while since Ole Miss is going to make the Playoffs.

On 11/7/2025 at 5:27 PM, TexasDuck said:

Fisch has done everything except park a uhaul outside his office at UW. Where he lands I have no idea. Even though UCLA seems like a step down, he (and his family) may not see it that way. That would open the door for Smith.

That said, I’m still leaning toward Smith going to UCLA.

I just don’t think you can win in Westwood with their lack of support and would image that that would be important to Fisch. He will have other opportunities.

Smith is a more logical hire, IMHO.

On 11/7/2025 at 9:54 AM, JabbaNoBargain said:

I’m not particularly attached to Stein personally. What is it, year 2? Pppht.

It’s year 3 for Stein, and I share your indifference to Stein as OC. Continuity is usually a plus, but I’ve not been enamored with the offense recently.

Ducks haven’t scored more than 20 points against a good team this year. And, no, I’m not counting the 30 against PSU since 13 points came in overtime; 17 points in regulation.

Is Smith a desirable hire for anyone looking in the P4? He’s tanking pretty hard and on at least a warm-seat. 0-6 in conference and giving up almost double what they’ve scored (in conference) doesn’t exactly scream “lure me away.”

Edited yesterday at 08:33 PM1 day by JabbaNoBargain

Ooops. I prematurely articulated here. My bad!

Edited 23 hours ago23 hr by The Grateful Duck

"It seemed like he went to MSU because he had to. Not because he wanted to."

Coach Smith unequivocally left Corvallis because he wanted to. There's no question about this. Ask any woodrat, including some of my own family, he left them in the middle of the night, leaving some of his Beaver gear at a local thrift shop as well (the story goes).

If Stein leaves and MSU cans Smith, let's hire him for our OC.

Fisch didn't do himself any favors with Florida with yesterday's loss to Wisconsin.

Two guys who won't be headline hires but could be in the mix for 'lesser' openings are Jim Mora, who never should have been fired by UCLA AD train wreck Dan Guerro, and Jack Dickert, who caught a plane out from Wazzu to Wake Forest.

In the 2024 and 2025 seasons to date, Mora at Independent in football, UConn has two more ACC wins than Mike Norvell at Florida State. More conference wins in 2025 than Dabo Swinney.

Dickert, with the lowest budget in the conference, has Wake at 6-3 with upset wins over SMU and UVA.

Jason Eck, who led Idaho to many FCS wins, has New Mexico at 6-3, and the Lobos put up a fight against Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Ken Niumatalolo has done a good job at San Jose State without running a triple option offense.

I'm not sure that guys with no head coaching experience will be a sure thing hire.

Coaching carousel and B1G moves that could help the depth of the conference. I think?

Maryland - Mike Locksley does not win games from October on. Replace him with Jim Mora, who has done more with less at UConn, and come up with the money to keep true frosh QB Washington on board.

Mora never should have been fired by UCLA.

UCLA - Make sure that booster Casey Wasserman signs off on the hire and comes up as promised, with the money to give the new hire a chance to compete.

Hire Dan Mullen from UNLV, a team that defeated UCLA this season, and keep Bruin forever, Jerry Neuheisel on the staff, along with QB Nico I on the team.

Mullen never should have been fired by Florida.

Wisconsin - With many young studs on defense, and this season's brutal schedule, I like Fickell getting another season.

Michigan State - The boosters disappeared when Mel Tucker flamed out, and the trade in mortgages was hit by an increase in interest rates. But folks still eat Domino's Pizza (for some reason I don't understand), and there are other Sparty grads with money. Keep J. Smith and invest the buyout money into the program.

It's hard to have success with development players today when players can earn more money to be developed, or not, elsewhere.

Purdue -I believe the Boilermakers made the right hire in Barry Odom. Purdue is playing more respectable football, but with a thin roster is wearing down at season's end.

To win B1G on the football field as well as on the basketball court, show Barry the money.

Penn State - He certainly isn't lovable, but Brian Kelly wins football games. He was 34-14 at LSU and defeated ranked football opponents. He's won everywhere he's coached, including 113 wins in twelve seasons at Notre Dame.

North of the Mason-Dixon, Kelly is a fit.

USC - With recruiting finally aligned and an impressive incoming class, the Trojans should finish no worse than 8-4 this season.

Riley is starting to get it as a play caller in the B1G. SC is averaging 7.1 yards a rushing attempt (2nd in CFB 😁) this season. Even with losses vs. Iowa, Oregon, and UCLA, he'll get at least one more season.

Here's hoping the Trojans' run D doesn't improve before next season.

UW - Fisch is fried East of the Rockies. He is not at risk of being fired, but with all of the coaching openings, will he hang in at UW long enough to build a deeper roster? I'd just as soon see him off the UW hook.

Minnesota - I have no intention of letting a Gopher out of its hole come Friday night, but as long as Fleck wins seven to eight games every season, I don't see him getting a better offer to leave Minnesota, or him being fired.

Rutgers - At 5-5, Rutgers is on the cusp of going bowling again. Win the 6th game, and Greg Schiano has met the standard of success.

The take from Down South - Iowa never should have been ranked. Oregon lucked out Saturday night and should be ranked below every two-loss SEC team. 🤪

I am looking forward to eight SEC teams having one more loss next season and Ole Miss not playing The Citadel in November.

Ground and Pound the Gophers! Light rain is predicted for Friday evening, wouldn't that be a nice change?

There is one name that never seems to come up when it should be first to mind for any team needing a coach:

Kenny Dillingham

I realize he's an Arizona guy through and through, but you HAVE to at least make a run at him.

He's got it all. The youth, the offensive mastermind and the record, nearly picking off Texas in the playoffs.

36 minutes ago, Solar said:

There is one name that never seems to come up when it should be first to mind for any team needing a coach:

Kenny Dillingham

I realize he's an Arizona guy through and through, but you HAVE to at least make a run at him.

He's got it all. The youth, the offensive mastermind and the record, nearly picking off Texas in the playoffs.

Good call, he will be in demand.

It will take a big (perhaps B1G) check to get Dilly to leave his hometown and alma mater.

He knows he can take ASU to the PO without the SEC grind and B1G competition. He's in a conference with zero Blue Chip rosters.